1:45: The President holds a bilateral meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

3:0: Holds a Civil Society Roundtable

5:20: Meets with USUN Mission employees and their families

8:50: The President and First Lady attend a reception for visiting Heads of State and Government

****

Later this week:

Tuesday: The President will deliver remarks to the U.N. General Assembly. The First Lady will attend. Later in the day, the President will attend the Clinton Global Initiative, where he and President Clinton will engage in a conversation about the benefits and future of health care reform in America and access to quality health care around the globe. In the evening, the President will attend an event for the DNC before returning with the First Lady to the White House.

Wednesday and Thursday: The President will attend meetings at the White House.

Friday: The President will welcome Prime Minister Singh of India to the White House for a bilateral meeting.

****

Through the joy & victory, the pain & grief, the racism & partisanship, I support my POTUS, who has given everything to better this nation.

President Obama’s weekly addresses are generally rather laid back and non-confrontational, so it was all the more striking to see the president use the platform to warn Americans about the looming Republican-imposed crises, while chastising the GOP lawmakers themselves.

…. In case that was too subtle, Obama also called House Speaker John Boehner to tell him the White House will not negotiate if congressional Republicans hold the nation hostage again.

Boehner’s office told reporters it was “a brief call,” which certainly makes sense. How long could it take for a president to say he won’t negotiate with those threatening to hurt Americans on purpose?

The gang at Media Matters has done a great job demonstrating how a faked-up Fox News “Special Report” on the food stamp program, starring a surfer straight from Moocher Central Casting, is having real-world consequences for the millions of people who depend on the SNAP program to eat everyday.

…. And this is what is really goddamn dangerous about what my man Chuck Todd said the other day. (Chuck’s feeling a bit put upon these days. Tough.) According to Chuck’s notion of what his job is, when conservative politicians latch onto a phony Fox News story in order to make policy, it is the job of the Democrats – or, perhaps, of the SNAP recipients themselves, who have, as we know, virtually unlimited access to the airwaves – to correct the arrant bullshit. Or, when politicians of both parties latch onto a phony “scandal” in the SSI program, it is the job of the embattled people running the program – or, perhaps, of Marcus Stephens’s parents, both of whom were, of course, important newspaper columnists of the day – to get out the truth. Chuck’s just the messenger. Thus does the oligarchy tell stories to itself.

Spandan (The People’s View): Drama Aside, It’s OVER for Republicans on Defunding Obamacare

It was amusing to see the drama play out on today’s Sunday morning TV shows. Needless to say, I enjoy few things more than seeing Republicans tying themselves into knots trying to insist that they don’t want to shut down the government unless they can defund the Affordable Care, and attaching its defunding to the bill to keep the government running was just… I don’t know, being cute, I guess. But for all the huffing and puffing from the Republicans and for all the pretense of “countdown to shutdown” from the media, the fight is over. Even Rand Paul (following his Tea Party nutty buddy Ted Cruz), has given up.

The scarecrow, tin woodsman and cowardly lion had more brains, heart and courage than most of the GOP.
— john miller (@deaconmill) September 23, 2013

****

Michael Tomasky: John Boehner Is Letting GOP Extremists Hold the Government Hostage

How could he allow the spending bill defunding Obamacare to reach the House floor? He’s not even trying to stand up to the GOP’s hostage-takers — and he’s easily the worst speaker in modern history.

Here are the two questions that really matter this week as we head toward a possible government shutdown. How many Republicans in the House really would consider a shutdown some kind of victory? And what is John Boehner prepared to do about them? Whatever the answer to the first question, the answer to the second is almost sure to be “not much.” Boehner is easily the worst House speaker in modern history. Far from being the figure of perverse sympathy that some suggest, he embodies exactly what’s wrong with the GOP — mainstream conservatism’s total capitulation to the extremists. He’s a disgrace.

There wasn’t much surprise in the House of Representatives’ vote to avoid a government shutdown while stripping all discretionary funding for the Affordable Care Act. But three Congressmen did buck party lines in the vote. One Republican voted against the bill, and two Democrats voted in favor of it.

Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) was the lone Republican to vote against the bill (four Republicans did not vote). But his objection didn’t really relate to Obamacare. He voted no because he opposes continuing resolutions, stopgap bills like this one that fund the whole government for a period of months….

…. The two Democrats who defied most of their party were Reps. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.). They both represent conservative districts and voted against the Affordable Care Act when it first passed in 2010.

…. as a procedural matter, Cruz wants Senate Republicans to get behind him and vote, in near-complete unanimity, to filibuster the House bill they want to pass. Cruz will tell Reid and Senate Democratic leaders, “We’ll continue to block the bill we support until you agree to let us filibuster your amendments.”

…. This plan could work if Senate Republicans were united around the idea …. but there’s no evidence this is likely to happen. On the contrary, quite a few GOP senators – none of whom actually likes Cruz – consider the whole scheme kind of silly and want Cruz to just go away. (Over the weekend, Republicans even started sending opposition research to Fox News about the junior senator from Texas.)

…. Ten days ago, I predicted there was a 65% chance of a shutdown. Today, I’d put that number at 40%.

This morning, Ezra Klein of Washington Post penned a column for his Wonkblog that was severely lacking in wonkiness and showed off the political wet spots behind his ears. He talks about how Larry Summers “lost” his nomination to head the Fed – a nomination that was never made – because liberals writ-large don’t trust President Obama on financial reform. Klein declares that Summers “really lost because he was a stand-in for Obama.” Talk about admitting to having Obama Derangement Syndrome….

If you believe the following, you are probably suffering from Obama Derangement Syndrome (ODS):

If Obama said it, it’s a lie. When it’s proven to be the truth, he got lucky – because it’s just a crazy coincidence that his lie turned out to be the truth after all. If he knew it was the truth, he would never have said it in the first place.

If Obama makes a speech about a specific issue, he’s just spewing pretty words. If Obama doesn’t speak on a specific issue, he’s trying to hide something. Or he should have spoken about something else entirely, because when he gets specific about one issue, that means he’s ignoring all of the really important issues he should be speaking about – those issues being whatever it was he didn’t mention….

With the departure of Michele Bachmann from the World’s Greatest Legislative Body, we have inaugurated a new semi-weekly regular feature in which we study the possible successor to la Bachmann as Royal Regent of the Crazy People. (Louie Gohmert is, of course, emperor for life.)

Seeing as how yesterday was Talk Like A Pirate Day, why not pop in to see Rep. Ted Yoho of Florida. Ted has decided to get tough with Speaker Boehner, which means that, when he looks in the mirror, Ted sees the warm steady gaze of history looking back at him, and he is so transfixed that he doesn’t even notice that his eyeballs are spinning in opposite directions……

Spandan (The People’s View): First Syria, Now Iran: A Fair but Resolute President at the Center of Diplomatic Triumphs

This weekend brings us two pieces of huge news on President Obama’s diplomatic success in the middle east: Syria has complied with the first deadline in the US-Russia agreement to rid it of all its chemical weapons, and Iran is moving towards dismantling its nuclear program. News broke today that the international organization monitoring chemical weapons has received, on time, Syria’s disclosures of chemical weapons…..

…. These aren’t accidents of history. These aren’t just luck. These are the results of a president who truly believes in the power of our ideas and not just the power of our weapons, in the fairness of our diplomacy and not just the might of our military. These are the results of the world recognizing in Barack Obama not just a messenger of peace but an activist for it.

President Obama blocks a shot while playing basketball with personal aide Reggie Love at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York, N.Y., where the President was attending the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 23, 2009 (Pete Souza)

GM and Happy Monday to all. Let’s hope the week ahead sees some resolution to various things such as the CR, Iran, Syria, the world, Mars and getting Pluto to be considered a planet again, not just a Disney dog.

Japa, funny that you should use the Wizard of Oz reference. Yesterday I saw the special IMAX 3-D version of OZ and it was an amazing experience. See it if you can. I was crying buckets at the end. Everything was so real, I thought I was in Oz and then at Aunt Em’s farm. Love all of them, but scarecrow will always be my favorite. If our congressmen were like Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion, our country would be soaring and PBO would be smiling every day and all day.

Unfortunately, I can not really get anything from a 3D film, other than blurred vision. Blind in one eye which means no depth perception. I saw the ads for it and almost wept knowing I couldn’t see it.

Good morning TOD.
What a great lineup, Chips. All about how a President is slowly but surely turning the enormous and unwieldy ship-of-state in the direction of peace and fairness. A better world becoming possible. No wonder the greedy selfish and bought out puppets fear him so.

Eight more days—8—until sign-up for ACA begins.

In NYC news today, Congressman Jerry Nadler will be appearing at my neighborhood OFA meeting on Sunday night. Two days before Oct. 1. Should be very interesting.

And to noone’s surprise the NYTimes has teamed up with Rupert Murdoch’s NYPost to paint Bill deBlasio as a wild-eyed community organier and Radical. Because tagging a politician as a community organizer was such a winning strategy in 2008 and 2012?
NOT.

Thanks for a great, great roundup, Chips. Two things: first Spandan has been on fire lately–a must read source for really intelligence, informed information about what’s really happening in DC. Second: I’m beginning to feel that this country might be stirring out of its post presidential year coma. Lately, I have had random people come up to me in the most unlikely places–Lowe’s, the grocery store–and say, spontaneously that we really have to fight in 2014. At our Dem dinner Friday night, a former Republican turned Democrat said that she thought there was more spirit and life in the local Democratic party than she had seen in all her years in the county and our Latino candidate for City Council told us that he had caught a special excitement among voters when he was canvassing. He said it seems as if there was a sleeping giant out there waiting to stir. I don’t know if others have felt this, but the intensity is getting too strong for me to ignore. People are angry. They’re angry at the governor, they’re angry at the useless congress. They’re angry at the local far-right candidates trying to infect our school boards. And they’re starting to say, “hey we did something about this in 2012. Let’s do it again.” Of course, it’s up to us to stoke this flame and getting burning hot in 2014. Too much is at stake for any of us to drop the ball.

The national media are not even lifting a finger to help explain what Obamacare is what it means to people who don’t currently have health insurance (30 million, or 10% of the population is a figure I’ve seen).

The national MSM got high from the exhilaration of Team Obama’s masterful 2008 and 2012 campaigns, and continue to present “news” from a campaign perspective (skewed polls, 2016 speculation, etc.) from a POTUS-bashing perspective.

The national MSM is lazy and their editors must be dimwitted and clueless.

They admit that Obamacare is the law of the land, but they continue to report on skewed polls? This is not journalism.

Reminder: Congress is less popular than the President of the country the US has warned military action against:

Good Morning Chips and all my fellow TOD’ers. We have been graced with another excellent Rise and Shine.

I took the weekend off and went to the Eastern Shore. It was just what I needed after last week. Hearing our Presidents words were such a comfort. Our First Ladies has such compassion and empathy. It warms my heart.

The world is a better place because Barack Obama is President of the United States.

Off to work I go….

and then this evening I’ll be passing out ACA flyers at the Metro Station.

Good morning TOD – it is difficult for an outsider to comprehend what is happening in your world at the moment.

I keep you all in my thoughts and hope that you can return to a place where people are the primary concern, health care is universal and starvation is not an option for the unemployed/low paid workers. Every day, in every way – you have a most wonderful President doing all in his power to get you there and he has wonderful support from this most marvelous group of people.

Hello Fellow TODers,
Thank you all so very much for your concern, prayers, beautiful poems, shared tears. You are all truly family. I could never thank you all enough. As many of you many have been hearing, my mentor & my husband’s close confidant, Prof Kofi Awoonor, was internationally acclaimed as all news reports of the attack are mentioning him singularly in the casualty count. The fact that he was in Kenya as a special guest of the Storymoja Hay Festival for Writers (an even at which PBO’s sister, Auma Obama, also did a presentation) and was going to do his master performance Saturday evening, makes his demise even more painful. My native Ghana is in mourning.

As Ambassador at the UN in the 1990s, he fought tirelessly for Palestinian rights, the dismantling of Apartheid, and minority rights around the world. A true pan-Africanist and artist.

I learned so much from him and our families became even closer and closer. He spoke to my hubby from Kenya on Friday, chatting excitedly about the writers’ program, then this.

I’d like to share a beautiful tribute the BBC put together in his honor. I hope you don’t mind.

Thanks Chips, I hope I haven’t hijacked the site with a non-POTUS story. But it helps to share with you guys since I’m far from Ghana and what hubby is going through. So thanks once again for this oasis.

Zizi, this is a place for all those fighting for justice and peace all other the world. We have come together because of President Obama but we are much more and will never be just a singular people. Your mentor was an inspiration to us all. Always know that you are not alone!

Oh Zizi, it is an honor to hear from someone as close as you and your husband are to so majestic a human. Your pain and loss are magnified by that very closeness, and if we can help in any way, you know we will. Candles burning, real and virtual. {{{{zizi&husband}}}}

Dear, Zizi, my deepest condolences to your family and Professor Awoonor’s family! Ghana, Africa, the world, lost a great man! I pray that his son is, who was also a victim of this evil and senseless violence, is recovering.

zizi, I’m so sorry for your loss, and for the world’s loss. The daily carnage we see here and throughout the world is so horrific. I’m sorry your mentor was taken from this earth. Thanks for spreading the good word about him.

Zizi, I’m so very sorry to hear about this awful news about Prof. Awoonor. Ghana is what I call my second home, so my thoughts & prayers go out to all in Ghana and the the diaspora. Wishing you and your hubby peace. {{{{zizi}}}}

Big hug to you, Mum of Danny O’Chips! I must be away, some errands I must stop ignoring, and furnace cleaning on this weeks’ schedule ~ much to do. Waddle and Crump! Blessed Be, all of TOD. God holds our President and First Lady in His hands, and keeps all those dedicated to working together with PBO for peace in a special place in His Heart. For HZ ~ {{{{HZ}}}} ~ thank you every day for your presence on Earth.

I am deeply honored by President Obama’s endorsement,” de Blasio said. “If I am fortunate to earn the trust of the people of New York on November 5th, I will work every day to advance our shared value of making sure everyone has a fair shot. On health care, tax fairness or the economy, the President is no stranger to addressing big problems with big ideas and big solutions. I will emulate the example he has set, and if elected I stand eager to work with him on an urban agenda that grows prosperity for all.”

**************************

That was his response….wow…we need a mayor like that in Philadelphia..

Things are moving at warp speed re: Iran. As it should be before the neocons start lacing their shoes to derail the Iran-US detente. Already Bibi is making jealous noises. But we don’t want the teatards putting obstacles in PBO-Kerry’s way

He was indeed a remarkable man who contributed an outsized share to this world, not the least of which was providing guidance to those like yourself who will continue his legacy with your talent and teaching contributions.

The relationship between the US and Iran is indeed progressing at warp speed. Unimaginable a year or two ago.

The lesson for the US that Iran provides is that ousting a clownlike figurehead (Ahmadinejad) who spews nothing but hate for his perceived enemies is an opportunity for the country. Are you listening, GOP RWNJs (answer is no).

“Boehner is easily the worst House speaker in modern history. Far from being the figure of perverse sympathy that some suggest, he embodies exactly what’s wrong with the GOP—mainstream conservatism’s total capitulation to the extremists. He’s a disgrace.”
…
“A speaker with any guts at all would have said to his caucus: “You people are out of your frickin’ minds. I am not letting this hit the floor.” And that would have been the end of it.”

The New York Times added that Iranian leaders, “seizing on perceived flexibility in a private letter from President Obama, have decided to gamble on forging a swift agreement over their nuclear program with the goal of ending crippling sanctions.” A related report added that “diplomacy is suddenly alive again,” with “surprising progress” that one senior American diplomat described as “head spinning.” Max Fisher made the case that President Obama’s pragmatism “has sent exactly the right signals to Iran, particularly at this very sensitive moment.”
.
.
On Capitol Hill, the prospect of a shift in U.S. policy towards Iran is drawing criticism from Republicans — try to contain your surprise — especially following reports that Obama and Rouhani might even shake hands at the United Nations this week. For the most part, however, Democrats are sending the White House encouraging signals.

The word “freedom” looms large in modern conservative rhetoric. Lobbying groups are given names like FreedomWorks; health reform is denounced not just for its cost but as an assault on, yes, freedom. Oh, and remember when we were supposed to refer to pommes frites as “freedom fries”?
.
.
Even some conservative pundits worry that the war on food stamps, especially combined with the vote to increase farm subsidies, is bad for the G.O.P., because it makes Republicans look like meanspirited class warriors. Indeed it does. And that’s because they are.

Glad to see Krugman refer to the GOP waging “class warfare”. This is a big step toward reflecting the reality of the situation. From the foreign relations front (with Syria and Iran starting to bend to PBO’s will and the possibility of a resolution to the Israel/Palestinian) to the domestic situation (with the GOP entering into a civil war, the American people getting tired of GOP bullshit and the appearance that the gov’t shutdown and debt ceiling stunts will go down in flames) I must admit that I am in a hopeful mood today. Having faith in the wisdom and forward thinking manner of PBO always seems to be the wise choice, while those who seem to exist solely to complain and criticize PBO look more and more foolish everyday (when will they learn?). I am becoming a fan of Spandan, and recommend his writings to anyone who wants clear eyed view of the politcal situation, without the drama, fear mongering and GOP spin that infects most sources of commentary. Love his take down of Ezra Klein and diagnosing him with Obama Derangement Syndrome. Have a great day everyone, and thank you Chips for providing this safe haven from MSM lies and propaganda.

Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), who chair the Senate Budget Committee and Senate Finance Committee, respectively, drew a line in the sand Monday and proclaimed they stand with President Barack Obama in calling for a clean debt limit increase.

“Democrats are very interested in negotiating with Republicans over replacing sequestration, investing in economic growth, fixing our broken tax code, and tackling our long-term fiscal challenges fairly and responsibly,” the two senators wrote in a joint letter. “But President Obama has been clear that he is not going to negotiate over the debt limit, and Congressional Democrats stand behind him strongly.”

Former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) had a brutal assessment of his own party in an op-ed published Monday in The Hill.

“Most Americans these days are simply ignoring Republicans. And they should,” Gregg wrote. “The self-promotional babble of a few has become the mainstream of Republican political thought. It has marginalized the influence of the party to an appalling degree.”

////

Judd Gregg is another quicksand (unstable…..in my world)…….he wanted the Commerce Director job in 2009. The job was offered to him and he was talked out of it for partisan reasons by McConnell and his apparatus.

When his party was going off the cliff, he was gung ho. It’s people like him who are responsible for creating this monster, and now they’re whining about it. and yet the Republican party still is counting on enough RWNJ’s to vote and not enough Dem’s voting to stop this insanity.

I understand your take on Judd Gregg, but I like the fact that he singled out the GOP and did not just generally blame Congress. His defection from the party line is a welcome sign that the TP set has “jumped the shark” and the sane/Wall Street GOPers are distancing themselves. GOP civil war (stoked by the foolish debt ceiling and gov’t shutdown threats) is in full effect.

I welcome his comments. One of my pet peeves, however, is Dem’s who fall all over themselves rewarding these asshats when they say one, sane thing. That didn’t happen here at TOD, but I see that all the time. Republicans NEVER give any credit, so I think we can reward the comment and remind people that it’s the silence of people like Gregg over the last 4 years that allowed this party to go off the rails.

Good Morning my beautiful Chips. ((((((((Thank you for All that you give our TOD family daily)))))))).

Thank you for yesterday’s memorial post. I often think of how much emotional capital you have to put out to bring us some of the most humanly, compassionate, and raw emotions from our President and First Lady as they go to all of these very emotional events on all of our lives. I lift you up daily, my special angel.() () ().

Zizi, ((((((((((((((((((( Lots of loving hugs of comfort for you and hubby during this time of loss of your beautiful mentor and dear friend)))))))))))))))
Candles keep burning my music room. It gives me a focal point for my prayers and mediations for you at this time.

MightyPamela, you are so very special. (((((((((((( Thank you for your beautiful message))))))))))))) Keep yourself surround with those things that give you beautiful goodness in your space.

JER, thank you for your alert of our POTUS and FLOTUS departures. I always cry with gratefulness when I see those scenes. They are so awesome. Thank you.

As we have seen our President and First Lady depart for NYC, may the angels of grace, the provider of wisdom, and the loving prayers and meditations for our great President follow him and our beautiful First Lady throughout their travels and meetings. God Grace Smile Upon Them, we humbly ask.

I will give thanks for all of my TOD family members on this day. We have work to still do, and knowing us, we will get it done. By the Grace of Almighty, we will prevail.

Place into your space today, TOD family
Kind words
Gentle deeds
Bold actions to help others
Loving arms around your family and friends
Prayers for our POTUS and his Administration.

Have a lovely day my Chips and TOD family. We will be fine. Believe me. The journey will get rocky, but we will make it there together in sweetness to our souls. Trust me. HZ

Just days and counting until registration/sign up starts for OCares! I’ve shared enrollment info to all my email addressees. One friend thanked me because she is preparing a presentation on OCare provisions to her church. I’d like to thank the many TODders who have posted some good material and links here.

I found the following info, and have not verified its accuracy. However, it sounds plausible and at least worth taking into account regarding things to be aware:
– there are some unscrupulous companies who are selling insurance, claiming to be under the Obamacare provided exchanges:
– the ACA gov site is the ONLY marketplace to obtain Obamacare!!!.
– there are reports of many “fake” or look alike sites set up. The fake or look alike sites may provide insurance that is NOT covered by the ACA laws regarding things such as out of pocket lifetime caps etc due to being grandfathered!!!
– anyone obtaining insurance before this portion of ACA goes into effect on Jan 1 2014 will not have the same protections offered by insurance obtained thru the ACA marketplace site…
– subsidies ( tax credits ) for insurance will only be available for people who purchase their insurance on the exchanges/marketplaces.
– if you want help with the cost of coverage, you must go through an exchange.
– http://www.healthcare.gov is the official site to go through, not a commercial site, such as healthcare.com, even though it has a photo of the White House.
– sites other than the marketplaces can perform that function of being a clearinghouse for insurers to sell their products. But the costs may be higher than the marketplaces, and subsidies are only available through the marketplaces.
– someone who isn’t eligible for a subsidy can choose marketplace, or not.